Roll support for strap conveyers



'May 6, 1941. A. PLAUSICS 2,241,219 ROLL SUPPORT FOR STRAP CONVEYRSFiled May Y28, 1958 s sheetssheet 1 I3'y I7 24 la 22 May 6, 1941- A.PLAUslcs 2,241,219

ROLL SUPPORT FOR STRAP-CONVEIYERSy Fiied May 28, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR A. PLAUSICS ORY May 6, 1941. O A. PLAUSICS 2,241,219

ROLL SUPPORT FOR STRAP CONVEYERS Filed May 28, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 AU/ H11/UWM INVENTOR A. PLAUSICS ORW@ 20 at substantially any pointbetween the ex tremity thereof and its mid-portion. The shaft and eyebarare securely positioned in relation to one another by means of a setscrew 2|. Adjacent the end of the shaft 2| is a cotter pin 22 which actsas a stop, thereby preventing the shaft from sliding endwise out of theeyebar II. It should be noted that the eyebar or extensible arm II isalso provided with a pin 23 for a similar purpose.

The pulley or roller 24 is positioned on the shaft 20 at any desiredpoint intermediate the extremities thereof. Endwise motionof the pulley24 on the shaft 20 is'impeded by suitable collars 25 which may besecurely aiilxed to the shaft 20 in any conventional manner.

The other end of the shaft 20 is supported in a similar manner. In thisconnection it is seen that the arm 26 may occupy a quite different po'-sition in relation to itsassociated sleeve 2'I. Also it may be seen,particularly in Figs. 2 and 3, that the clamp 28 may be attached tothepipe structure I Il at a different height than the clamp II. Thus, it isapparent that by the novel instrumentalities comprising this invention apulley which is mounted on a shaft may be adjusted so that it isangularly disposed in three dimensions relative to the supportingstructure.

Fig. 3 indicates the manner in which a pulley mounted by means of thepresent invention may be incorporated in a Istrap conveyer. In thisparticular illustration a conveyer of the twist lor double strap type isshown, comprising the belts or straps 29 and 3B which are arranged incontact with one another and between which is gripped a telegram 3 I'.Obviously, such a pulley may also be used with equal facility in othertypesV of strap conveyors such as the so-called drag conveyer.

Having reference now to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, there is depicted a modifiedform of a shaft mounting. It is substantially similar to the embodimenthereinbefore described vexcept for the configurationv of the eyebar 32.The opening throughthe ringed portion of this member i-s of an elongatednature and, in the preferred form here shown, is elliptical in shape.Such an opening or hole may be constructed either bymilling or, moresimply, by rocking a. drill backward and forward through any desiredangle. By providing such an opening in the arm 32 it is possible toattain a greater degree of angularity in mounting the shaft 20. It willbe noted in connectiony with these figures that the arms 32 and 34 arearranged so that they are pointed in opposite directions and that theclamp 36 is not provided with a lug. It will be appreciated that such anarrangement is susceptible of a verywide variety of adjustments. A

Figs. 5 and 6 show the shaft mounted horizontally although, obviously,this embodiment may also be arranged to mount the shaft and pulley at asubstantial angle with the horizontal.

vIn most conveyer systems now in use the structure or framework which isemployed to support the direction-changing pfulleysand otherapparatuscomprises one or more of the more common structural steel shapes. suchas angles, channels, I sections, etc. Fig. 7 shows, in transversesection, a portion of such a framework made up of one of theaforementioned sections which in the gure is illustrated asjan angle3 1. An angular bracket 38 which may have anydesired configuration, isfastened to thefframework 3IY by means of the bolt 39. The-,outwardlyextending Vportion of this bracket is'provided with a hole whichplurality of angular serves to mount the stud I4. This type of mountingwill generally be utilized with an eyebar of the type illustrated inFigs. 4, 5 and 6. The use of such a bar 32 will permit of a substantialadjustment of the pulley shaft. Obviously such a device will not lenditself to such a wide range of adjustments as will those previouslydescribed. However, by utilizing some of the novelinstrumentalitiescomprising this invention, a substantial increase inthe range of adjustment over that obtainable with the prior art devicesmay be effected.

In Fig. 8 there is illustrated a typical twisted strap conveyer system.It comprises two endless straps or belts 40 and 4I which are arrangedwith a system of pulleys in any well known manner.

The belts derive their movement from a motor 42 .and are arranged toform a medium of conveying/,light sheet material T from point A to pointB. ft'will be noted that these points are disposed generally diagonallywith reference to the room in which the conveyer is located. A typicaluse of the adjustable pulley mounting as shown in this figureillustrates the ease with which Asuch a system may be installed onsupporting structures which are disposed squarely with reference to thesides of the room. Pulleys 43, 44, and 45 are mounted on a supportingframework 46 which is suspended from the ceiling. Itmay be clearly seenthat by the suitable manipulation of the improved type of pulleymounting, the necessary degree of angularity of these pulleys withrespect to their supporting framework may be obtained. It will beapparent that, if at some future'date it is desired to rearrange thesystem here shown so that the conveying route will connect points A andC, for example, the only necessary changes to be made are theadjustments of the pulleys 43, 44 and 45 and such incidental changes asaltering the lengths of the belts, etc.

Obviously this invention is not limited, in strap conveyers, to themounting of direction changing pulleys, but may also b e used to mountpulleys which provide support to a strap conveyer at some pointintermediate the direction changing pulleys. It may also be used inconveyers of this type where pulleys are needed for corrective purposes,that is wherever there is a tendency for one of the belts to divergelaterally from the other. Obviously various modifications of thisinvention may be made Vwithout departing from the spirit thereof.

The nature and operation of the invention may be ascertained from theforegoing description and .it is `particularly defined in the followingclaims. Itis to be understood that the scope of the invention shall bedetermined only by the prior art and by thev express limitations of theappended claims. What is claimed is:

1. In -a belt conveyer, a device for mounting a pulley on a supportingstructurein anyA of a positions relative thereto, comprising clampsattached to said supporting structure, studded sleeves adjustablyaflixedl to Ysaid clamps by said studs, eyebars slidably posi,- tionedin said sleeves and also arranged vtherein forT rotation about thelongitudinal axis of.4 said sleeves,and -a shaftabout which said pulleymay ,revolve,said shaft havingits support in.` said plurality of angularPositions relative thereto, comprising a shaft aboutwhich said pulleymay rotate, a pair of supporting arms each characterized by acylindrical body portion and a ringed end adapted to engage said shaftat any point between an extremity thereof and said pulley, studded meansadapted to engage each of said arms at any point between the ringed endand the other extremity thereof, said means being completely rotatableabout the longitudinal axis of the studded portion thereof so that saidarms may be disposed in any of the possible positions in la given planeperpendicular to said axis, and means for attaching said rotatable meansto said supporting structure, said :second means having a plurality ofpossible positions in any one of la plurality of planes perpendicular tosaid first mentioned plane.

3. In a belt conveyer, a supporting structure therefor, adirection-changing roller, and means for mounting said roller on saidstructure in any of ya plurality of angular positions relative thereto,said means comprising a shaft about which said roller may rotate and; ajointed coupling interposed between said shaft and said supportingstructure, the coupling including a shaft-supporting extensible arm, anda' studded member having an opening therethrough, said studded memberconstituting a means for supporting said arm at substantially any pointtherealong, and for permitting rotation of the arm Within -said opening.

4. In a belt conveyer, an adjustable supporting structure for adirection-changing pulley, comprising a shaft for said pulley, a pair ofrods each having an elongated transverse hole adjacent one end thereof,said holes serving as supports for said shaft and permitting angularmovements of said shaft with reference to said rods, a pair of studdedmembers each having one end thereof threaded and a transverse holeladjacent the other end thereof, said transverse holes serving toslidably mount said rods, and a pair of clamps each having a lugextending therefrom for mounting said studded members, said clampsserving to attach the structure to a supporting framework.

5. In a belt conveyor, an adjustable supporting structure for adirection-changing pulley comprising a shaft for said pulley, a pair ofrods having elliptical transverse holes adjacent one end thereof, saidholes serving to support said shaft and permitting angular movements ofsaid shaft with reference to said rods, a pair of studded members, eachhaving one end thereof threaded an-d also having a transverse holeadjacent the other end thereof, said last named transverse holes servingto slidably mount said rods, and a pair of brackets arranged to attachsaid studded members to a supporting framework.

6. In a belt conveyer, an adjustable supporting structure for adirection changing pulley, cornprising a shaft for said pulley, a pairof rods each having a transverse hole adjacent one end thereof, saidholes serving as supports for said shaft, a pair of studded members eachhaving one end thereof threaded and a transverse hole adjacent the otherend thereof, said last named transverse holes serving to slidably mountsaid rods, and a pair of clamps each having a lug extending therefromfor mount-ing said studded members, said clamps serving to attach thestructure to a supporting framework.

ALEXANDER PLAUSICS.

